Shy Violet and the Color Machine Mystery
by Robert Teague
Summary: At a scientific conference, Shy Violet and Amethyst are accused of destroying a machine that can make color in order to preserve their power as Color Kids!


Shy Violet and the Color Machine Mystery

copyright 2001 by Robert Teague

This story was written solely for the entertainment of Rainbow Brite fans, and no copyright infringement is intended. This story may be reproduced, provided no changes are made. 5 May 2001 Reformatted and edited 14 April 2010

Shy Violet tossed a small bag of violet starsprinkles into her suitcase, and closed it up.

A day long-awaited had finally arrived. She had been invited to a scientific conference, and after much urging from her friends, had decided to go. She would be submitting a paper for the conference's book, but would not be speaking; that would be too much for her shyness to overcome.

Grabbing her suitcase, she headed down the spiral staircase, and out into the main floor of the Color Castle. She checked the settings on her Color Console station one last time. Everything was in good order, and she would be back in plenty of time before it ran out of color.

She looked around. Nobody else was at their station, and the Castle seemed deserted. Where was everybody? Well, that was fine. She had WANTED to get away without a lot of fuss and bother.

Grabbing her suitcase again, she headed out the front door. As she opened the door, she found all of the Kids waiting for her.

"HOORAY!!" they all shouted.

Violet turned beet red instantly. She should have known.

Some time later, after all the goodbyes were said and done, she touched the star on her belt, and a violet stripe appeared under her feet, rising upward. As she disappeared into the sky, she returned the waves from the Kids and sprites that had come to see her off.

"I'm really proud of her, Red," said Rainbow, speaking to the Kid standing next to her, "It took a lot of work to convince her to go, but in the end it was her decision."

"Right," said Red.

rbrbrb

As she travelled between the stars, her suitcase by her feet, she felt a bit lonely. Her favorite Sprite IQ had planned to go with her, but had caught a bad cold yesterday. She almost cancelled her trip to stay with him, but he wouldn't hear of it.  
Reluctantly, she had decided to go anyway.

Ahead, a particular star grew brighter, and became a disk. Her stripe changed course slightly, and a planet appeared in the distance. She was approaching her destination, whose Earthly astronomical name was Zeta 2 Reticuli IV. It was 38 light years from Rainbowland.

As she approached the planet, more details were made clear. It was a typical habitable planet, like Rainbowland and Earth. She was pleased to note that the plant life had a much greater proportion of violet than was usual. She made a mental note to keep an eye on this planet in the future. Violet was a rare color in nature, so an opportunity to shine with it had to be taken.

The hotel/convention complex was directly below. She could see ground vehicles parked and looking to park, and nearby was a spacecraft field. There were several ships on the ground, and one was landing.

As she drew closer, people became visible. Her nervousness increased with the thought of being surrounded by strangers, but she offset it by reminding herself these were fellow scientists, and she was here to learn. She picked a clear spot on the sidewalk near the main entrance, and landed. The stripe disappeared as soon as she was standing on the ground. Her unexpected mode of travel caused comments from the people nearby.

"Wow, did you see that?" she heard someone say. "Yeah, that's one of the Color Kids! I never thought I'd ever see one of them!" was the reply. The attention made her blush, but with an effort she ignored it, and picked up her suitcase, heading inside.

She had a bit of trouble checking into her room in the hotel section of the complex. Although the clerks were not surprised by a wide variety of alien types, Violet's small stature and resemblence to a child made it difficult for them to believe she was an adult. But she persevered, and soon had her bag safely put away.

In the convention center, she got her registration packet, and found a spot out of the way to look over the schedule. A number of talks, panels, and presentations looked interesting.

rbrbrb

She attended a talk, then went to the exibition area, where inventions were being demonstrated. A number of business-beings were there, looking for commercial possibilities.

A new method of focusing energy caught her attention. She thought it might be possible to modify it to increase the efficiency of the Color Console, so that the same amount of color could be maintained with fewer star sprinkles. That, in turn, would help the mining Sprites. She talked to the inventor, who was thrilled that a Color Kid was taking interest in her work.

rbrbrb

At one of the restauarants near the convention center, she ate lunch and watched the ships land at the spaceport. Everyone left her alone, respecting her as a Color Kid, until a young boy came over and talked to her. She gave him a violet star sprinkle, which thrilled him, and his parents. Star sprinkles were very rare away from Rainbowland and Spectra, and highly prized.

She looked through the schedule, marking lectures and events of interest.

As she finished her pie, a familiar voice behind her said, "H-h-hi...!"

She turned, and there was Amethyst, blushing and smiling at the same time. He was the Color Kid of violet for another part of the galaxy. They had been friends since meeting at Christmas.

She gasped, and instantly lost her voice. She gestured for him to join her, which he eagerly did.

She drank some water, which gave her a bit of time to gather herself.

"I didn't..." they began at the same time, then stopped. He gestured at her to continue.

"I--I didn't expect to see you here," she said.

"That's what I was going to say," he replied.

A waiter came over and took his order, and they spent some time catching up while he ate. They made plans to see several of the talks together, and others separately. She told him about the energy-focusing method, and he made a note to check it out.

Looking in her membership packet, she found something she hadn't noticed before; an invitation for that evening to the unveiling of a new device, and a reception afterwards. No clue as to what the invention was. Amethyst had gotten one as well, so they decided to go.

After lunch, they had some time before the next lecture, so they wandered the convention, looking at the poster papers, and seeing the exhibits.

Several of the attendees caught Violet's attention. A number of people of Count Blogg's race were there; and she noted that the females had short beards, while all the males had long ones. A couple of Wajah's race were in attendence, and nervously, she approached one.

"Excuse me," she said, softly.

He turned and looked at her. "Oh, it is a Color Kid," he said, tugging on his companion's arm.

"A COLOR KID!?!" the other said, and clapped his hands over his eyes.

"We are sorry, if we have absorbed your color," said the first one, closing his own eyes.

"No, no," said Violet, "It's okay, you didn't. I just wanted to ask if you knew Wajah."

"Yes, we do," said one, groping in his pocket, and putting on color-filtering goggles that would stop his color-absorbing power. The other had already donned his own. "He brought us here, but could not stay," he said.

"Oh," she replied, "Well, please tell him I said hello."

"We will do so, Shy Violet," said the second.

"Thank you! Good bye!" she said.

They waved as she returned to Amethyst, then turned back to reading a paper.

rbrbrb

While reading poster papers, a hotel staffer approached them. "Excuse me, Miss Violet, Mister Amethyst?' said the tall, thin woman. Her name tag announced her to be Nyra-ah. She looked human, except for a definate bluish cast to her skin and hair, and very intense turquoise eyes.

"Uh, yes?" replied Amethyst.

"Sorry to bother you, but we have a color-related problem here at the hotel, and I thought you might be able to help with it," she said.

The two Kids looked at each other.

"Certainly, we will help if we can. Please lead the way," replied Violet, adjusting her glasses.

"This way," was the reply, and they followed her to a lecture hall that had been closed to the general convention.

Inside, the woman led them over to a table, and picked up the potted plant. She held it down to them, and they could see instantly that the violet coloring had faded from the plant's petals. Violet estimated the fade at 40%. Oddly, though, the plant's other colors had not been affected.

"Are they all like this, Nyra-ah?" she asked, taking the plant from her.

"Yes, every one. This plant, which we call may-to-yah, is our planet's Official Flower. It's tradition that during a large dinner, a live may-to-yah plant is placed on each table. But ever since this new wing was built, the violet fades in this room. We have to wait for the last minute to put them on, so they will look good." She sighed. "No other color seems to be affected, and when we take them out of the room, the violet slowly returns," she added.

The two Color Kids did not answer. They were staring at the plant, and deep in thought.

"I was hoping you could help..." Nyra-ah said.

Violet suddenly realized they were being rude."Oh, sorry. We will be glad to help. This is fascinating!"

Violet held her hand over the plant, and concentrated. The petals slowly returned to their original brightness.

"Wow, that's amazing!" said Nyra-ah.

Violet and Amethyst turned red. "It's our job..." said Amethyst, humbly.

"Let's look around, and see if we can figure out what's happening," said Violet.

Amethyst nodded.

"I'll be in my office, out the door and turn left; you'll see it, if you need me," said Nyra-ah.

"Thank you," said Amethyst.

The two Kids went over to a window, and looked out. Nothing unusual could be seen.

"Let me try something," said Amethyst, and pulled a gadget out of a pocket. He turned it on, and started pointing it in different directions.

"What is that?" asked Violet.

"A color signal detector," said Amethyst. I can measure strength and direction with it."

Violet started. That was a great idea! Why hadn't she thought of it?

"Be right back," said Amethyst, and ran out the door. A minute later, he returned, still staring at the device's readout.

"Hmmm....the signal IS noticably weaker in here, especially in the violet part of the spectrum. The other colors drop just slightly." He walked over to a wall, and frowned. "Near this wall, it drops further."

He turned off the gadget, and put it back away. "I'd say that the construction materials are responsible."

"I concur with that assessment," said Violet, "We should go tell Nyra-ah."

"Tell me what?" said a voice behind them.

They turned, and there was the tall woman, looking at them with interest.

The two Kids explained what the problem was, and Nyra-ah nodded. "I'll make a report, but I'm sure the owners of the complex will not be very interested in tearing it down to correct it." She brightened. "But maybe the word of two Color Kids will help."

"You certainly may use my name in your report, if you wish," said Violet.

"Mine as well," added Amethyst. "While we're here, we'll restore the other plants."

"Thank you so much!" said Nyra-ah, smiling. "Excuse me, please, I have an appointment now." She headed for the door.

The two Kids split up, and went to different tables. They pulled out a chair and climbed up on it to reach the centerpiece.

Up on the stage, which they had paid no attention to, was a lecturn and table. The table was covered by a green sheet with a lump in the middle. An object was on the table. Notes had been left on the lecturn.

When they were about halfway finished restoring the violet, the air conditioning kicked in, blowing the edge of the cloth up, and the notes all over the stage and floor. Neither of the Kids noticed, having their backs to the stage.

As they worked on the last two centerpieces some ten minutes later, a loud, imperious voice shook them both.

"WHAT'S GOING ON HERE? WHAT ARE MY NOTES DOING SCATTERED AROUND? WHY HAS THE CLOTH BEEN MOVED??" it said.

They looked around, and Violet was startled to see what appeared to be Count Blogg on the stage.

The figure noticed them. "AND WHAT ARE YOU CHILDREN DOING HERE? WHERE ARE YOUR PARENTS?"

Amethyst drew himself up. "We are not children, sir, we are Color Kids of violet," he said, "And we have no idea what is going on up there. We are correcting a color problem."

The large man on stage blanched. "C-c-c-color Kids? Oh, I beg your pardon!" he said, in a much quieter, humbler tone. Violet could see now the man was not Count Blogg, though he looked and sounded a lot like him.

"But why are things a mess up here?" he asked.

"I've no idea. We didn't go anywhere near the stage," said Amethyst.

"E-excuse me, sir," said Violet, "Are you related to Count Blogg?"

"My younger brother," said the man, "But he chose to study magic, instead of science, and work for that rediculous Princess." He bowed to them. "I am First Scientist Blogg."

"We'll help you gather your papers," said Amethyst, and hopped down from the chair. Violet did likewise, and they quickly gathered them, handing them back to Blogg.

"Thank you," he said, taking them, "Did you two receive your invitations to my presentation tonight?"

"Yes, we did, and are planning to attend," said Violet.

"Good," said Blogg, with a smile, "I think you will find it very interesting..."

He turned and left the stage with his notes, making sure the cloth covered whatever was on the table.

"How are things?" asked a familiar voice behind them.

"We've finished restoring the color, Nyra-ah," said Amethyst.

"Thank you so much!" she said, examining the nearest plant, "They look great!"

"You're welcome. We'd best go, so your people can finish setting up," said Amethyst.

"Okay, see you later, and thanks again!" said Nyra-ah.

The Color Kids took their leave, once again braving crowds of people.

rbrbrb

That evening, Violet and Amethyst had a light snack, then went to the lecture hall for the invitation-only unveiling. The doorman who checked their names against a list was of General Zombo's race. He let them in, and closed the door behind them. They had been the last to arrive.

Inside, all the invitees had found their places and were settling down. They hesitated near the back, until a waiter escorted them to a table in the front to the left of the room. A couple of other people who were of short stature were seated there as well.

Their table companions introduced themselves, and Violet and Amethyst did the same.

"You're Color Kids?" asked one, a short, yellow-skinned female with antennae. "Then you'll find this invention very interesting."

Before Amethyst could inquire why, the lights went down and the stage curtains opened. A box sat on a table, and a blackboard-sized computer screen was to one side.

Blogg walked out on stage and bowed. "Gentlebeings, fellow scientists, I am First Scientist Blogg. My specialty is in the study of light and color, and I have made a breakthrough."

From the box he removed a device that looked somewhat like an old filmstrip projector, only small enough to hold in one hand.  
"This is a Color Application Device," he said, turning on the computer screen. It showed the device in close up. "With it, I can put any color on anything."

Everyone nearby looked at the two Color Kids, who turned red and shrunk in their chairs.

From the box he got several cubes a few inches square. One was grey, the others had different colors on each side. He spread them out on the table, and set the camera on the screen to show them. He then proceeded to demonstrate the device, turning the grey cube different colors, and each side of the other cubes.

Discreetly, Amethyst pulled a small device from a pocket, and turned it on, taking readings.

"In addition, I can remove the color," he continued, and did so.

Someone stood up and raised her hand. "I want to ask the Color Kids what they think about this invention," she said, which turned all the attention to them.

Violet looked down and said nothing.

Amethyst said "We always expected someone else to discover how to do it." He was surprised to hear his voice be rather loud, and realized a directional microphone had been aimed at him. "I'd like to ask First Scientist Blogg how it works."

Blogg smiled. "Sorry, sir, that's a secret. But I will tell you it doesn't use your so-called 'Star Sprinkles' or 'Color Crystals."

"The ability to spread color is a very great power. I trust you will use it wisely," said Amethyst.

"No doubt about that," said Blogg. He turned to the rest of the audiance. "This device will free us all from the tyranny of Rainbow Brite and her Color Kids, who, until now, have made all the decisions regarding color in the universe without asking anyone for opinions or help."

Violet and Amethyst sat stunned.

"No longer will we live in fear of them, never knowing if the supply of color will be cut off, making our lives miserable."

"But we wouldn't..." began Violet, then realized the microphone had been cut off. Their table companions gave them funny looks.

"Let us celebrate!" said Blogg, and stepped off the stage to his place at a table. The food began arriving, and everyone dug in, talking loudly. Blogg was immediately surrounded by business-beings, who made offers for the exclusive use of the color machine.

Unable to join in this atmosphere, Violet and Amethyst excused themselves, and stepped outside the room. They headed down the corridor toward the elevators, and suddenly a voice called to them from an open door. They turned to find Nyra-ah approaching.

"What's wrong, you two?" she asked, "Why aren't you at the dinner?"

"That Scientist Blogg vilified us for being Color Kids!" said Violet. "He has invented a machine that puts color on objects,  
so calls us tyrants! He accused us of threatening to take color from others! We would never do that!"

"I'm so sorry!" said Nyra-ah, "I can't believe he would say that! You two are the nicest people I've ever met!"

The Color Kids blushed.

"And now I've embarrassed you. I'm sorry, I'm just telling the truth," she said.

The Kids blushed deeper, and lost their voices.

"Anyway, what are you going to do?" she asked.

"Nothing," answered Violet, "What is there to do? He has a right to invent such a machine. And as for calling us tyrants, it's not true. We don't decide what colors to put on what; nature does that. We just activate and maintain that property. Taking it away is against everything we stand for."

"He shouldn't be mean about it," said Amethyst, "He was nice this afternoon."

"I'm off duty now," said Nyra-ah, "And I'm hungry. Would you two like to join me for dinner? I can be company, if you want to talk."

rbrbrb

The three of them ate dinner in the convention center's main restaurant, in a quiet corner away from the crowds. They told Nyra-ah about what had happened, and about themselves and their lives as Color Kids. Nyra-ah, in turn, told them about herself and her world.

After a while, others who had attended the reception came in, and gave them a wide berth, glaring. Evidently, Blogg had continued to spread lies about them.

Amethyst had been quiet as they ate, thinking, and suddenly he resolved to take action. He stood up. "Good night, Violet, Nyra-ah. I'll see you in the morning."

"Where are you going?" asked Violet.

He turned and left without answering. After a few minutes, Violet returned to her room, and Nyra-ah went home.

rbrbrb

The next morning, Violet met Amethyst at the same restaurant for breakfast. They went through the buffet line, and found a small table.

"Where did you go last night?" asked Violet.

"Uhh..." began Amethyst.

"Excuse us, please. Are you Shy Violet, and Irwin Amethyst?" asked the uniformed officer standing in front of their table.

"Yes, we are, officer. Can we help you?" asked Violet.

"There's been...a problem...could you come with me, please?" he said, obviously nervous.

"Certainly," answered Violet, and stood up. Amethyst reluctantly followed her lead.

A few minutes later found them back in the reception hall. Several officers were inspecting the table that held the color making machine. Another was looking at the podium.

First Scientist Blogg, talking to Nyra-ah and an officer, noticed them. "THERE THEY ARE, OFFICER!" He said in a loud voice, pointing, "ARREST THEM! THEY DESTROYED MY COLOR MACHINE!"

Violet and Amethyst were taken aback. "Beg pardon?" asked Violet.

The large, white-bearded scientist strode over to them, towering over their small statures.

"YOU DESTROYED MY MACHINE, AND BURNT MY NOTES!!" he accused, glaring.

"But these are Color Kids, sir," said an officer, "Why would they do that?"

"Obviously to keep their monopoly on spreading color!" answered Blogg. "It will take me years to recreate what I've lost!"

An officer came over, addressing the one in charge.

"Sir, I have to report that we have found fingerprints from both Kids on the paper scraps and Amethyst's on the cloth covering the machine."

"There's your proof! Arrest them!" exclaimed Blogg.

"Can you explain why?" asked the officer.

"Scientist Blogg's notes had scattered around on the floor, and we helped him pick them up yesterday," said Violet. "But why are yours on the cloth?" she asked, turning to Amethyst.

"Last night, after the reception, I came back to inspect the machine," he answered.

"So that's where you went," said Nyra-ah.

The police looked at her.

"We ate dinner together last night. Amethyst left before we did, and wouldn't say where he was going." She looked at them apologetically.

"That's true. I looked it over, but did not touch it. It was intact when I left. And the notes had not been burned."

"That was rather unethical, for a scientist," said Blogg, "And he's obviously lying. No one else would have done it."

"...I'm sorry, sir," said the chief officer, looking stricken, "I'm afraid we have cause to arrest you for this. Even if the color is taken from our planet for it."

"We would never do that, regardless of what happened!" exclaimed Violet, "To do so would be against everything we stand for as Color Kids!"

"Balderdash!" exclaimed Blogg, "You would do anything to protect your own, and your color monopoly!"

"Perhaps you had better contact Opal and Rainbow," said Amethyst to Violet.

"Yes, I'll do that," answered Violet.

"Sir, I need to ask you to empty your pockets," said the officer.

Nyra-ah stepped over to Violet, and knelt down beside her, putting her hand on her shoulder. Violet turned to her, and cried against her.

A minute later, an officer said, "How do I write this stuff up, sir? I don't know what any of it is."

Violet turned to see the various devices Amethyst had taken from his pockets, and the small pile of violet starsprinkles. A sudden thought hit her.

"Amethyst, you used one of your instruments during the demonstration last night. What was it?" she asked, drying her tears.

"See!? More underhandedness from these Color Kids!" interjected Blogg. "No doubt trying to mess up the demonstration."

"What is going on? What's this I hear of the color machine being destroyed?" asked a new voice. Everyone turned to see who it was. It was one of the businessmen attending the conference, looking for investments.

"That's correct, sir," answered Blogg, quickly going over to him. "These Color Kids have destroyed my machine and notes, to keep their power over us all."

"Not to worry, sir," said the businessman, "I'm prepared to offer you a billion-credit grant to rebuild your machine."

"Why, that's most generous of you, sir," said Blogg, in his most obsequious tone. He turned back to the Kids. "See? Your little scheme was only a minor setback."

A light clicked on for Violet.

"What were you going to say?" she asked Amethyst.

"It was the Color Detector," answered Amethyst. "It showed no color signal at all from his machine. That's why I came to look more closely after the reception."

"Er, ah, um...that's because it uses a different principal from your machines," said Blogg.

Violet turned to him. "It can't do that; not and follow the laws of color physics," she said.

Blogg drew himself up. "How dare you!" he said, "Trying to dictate the laws of science to ME!"

"What do you mean?" asked the businessman.

Violet turned to him. "We have studied color and its propagation for many millenia. The ONLY way to make color in this universe is with color crystal. He told us last night that his machine doesn't use it. And he told us a few minutes ago that it 'uses a different pricipal'. Amethyst's color detector didn't detect anything because there was nothing to detect!"

"But I saw it work last night!" objected the businessman.

"Let me see..." said Violet. She ran up on stage, and rummaged through the debris on the table. Suddenly she picked up a small component.

"Here's the answer!" she said, and returned to the others.

In her hand was a small red plastic bulb.

"What's that?" asked the officer.

"An infrared LED," answered Violet.

"I don't get it," said the officer.

"It's simple. You've seen toys and clothes that change color when they are at different temperatures. This puts out heat, and changed the color of the blocks used in the demonstration. Let me show you."

"T-t-this is absurd. Are you going to let her get away with this?" Blogg asked the officer.

"Sounds like she's on to something to me," answered the officer.

Violet put one of the demo-cubes on the floor, then held the LED in pliers. She put power to the leads, and pointed it toward the cube. After a few seconds, one side of the cube changed from red to blue. She removed the power, and slowly the cube returned to normal.

The businessman turned to Blogg. "So, going to defraud me of a billion credits, eh?"

"But-but-but..." said Blogg, looking around as the officers surrounded him. Then he slumped, defeated. "Yes. It was a perfect plan." He glared at Violet and Amethyst. "And it would have worked, too, if it hadn't been for you meddling Color Kids!"

"Let's go," one said, and they led him away.

"I apologise, sir," said the chief officer, saluting.

"Quite all right," said Amethyst, putting his things away.

The police left with Chief Scientist Blogg and the businessman.

"Quite an adventure," said Nyra-ah. The two Kids looked up at her.

"It sure was," answered Violet. "Will you join us for breakfast to celebrate? We never got to eat."

Nyra-ah's face fell. "Are you sure you want my company?"

"Of course. Why would we not?" answered Amethyst.

"I'm sorry," said Nyra-ah, her face turning bluer, "I made it worse for you," she said.

Amethyst shook his head. "No, you told the truth. Lying on our behalf would have been wrong, and we'd have called you on it."

"I see..." she answered.

"So come on, I'm hungry!" said Amethyst. He reached up and took Nyra-ah's hand in his own, then Violet's in the other.

"And if your bosses don't like you spending time with guests, they can come to ME about it!" said Violet.

The three friends walked down the corridor toward the restaurant, smiles from the guests greeting them. The story of Blogg's arrest had been made public already, and things were once more right with the world.

The End 


End file.
